The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Ford Motor is delaying by two years the launch of electric vehicles at its plant in Oakville, Ont., as sales of zero-emission cars falter. The Globe's Eric Atkins writes that the plant west of Toronto, which will shut down in May for a $1.8-billion EV retooling, was scheduled to produce electric SUVs by 2025. However, Ford on Thursday said it needs more time to allow the consumer market for larger EVs to develop. The plant will not be turning out vehicles until 2027. Ford also announced it is pushing deliveries of its second-generation electric pickup truck to be made in Tennessee into 2026 from 2025, while expanding its lineup of gas-electric hybrids. Taxpayers are giving Ford $580-million to transform the Oakville plant to make EVs and battery packs. RBC analyst Tom Narayan said in a note that U.S. sales of EVs were up by 40 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 year-on-year, but flat compared with the third quarter of 2023. Quarterly sales in Western Europe, meanwhile, fell year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. "We are experiencing a near-term EV slowdown," Mr. Narayan wrote, blaming high prices, lack of desirable models and concerns about battery range.